Defence and prosecution barristers made their closing speeches today (Wednesday, July 12) at Hull Crown Court.

Prosecuting, Paul Mitchell, said that "small, slight, confused and vulnerable" Mr McNeil should have been safe at the mental health facility on Ashby High Street, Scunthorpe.

He urged the jury to remember that at the heart of the trial was his "awful, tragic and senseless" death.

He explained that consultant psychiatrist Doctor Puri said Reed was not suffering from a recognised mental illness or abnormality of mental functioning in hospital and he was not psychotic when he killed Mr McNeil.

He added that Doctor Puri also said at the time Reed was sectioned he was showing symptoms of acute temporary psychosis and that he had behavioural abnormalities from depression and anxiety which were caused by increased cannabis use.

His relationship with his girlfriend, Lisa Bowers, and renewed relationship with his estranged father were also causing him stress.

Mr Mitchell said that when Miss Bowers first started seeing Reed he was an occasional drug user but that after talking to his GP in 2015 about being depressed, instead of taking the anti-depressants prescribed, he took cannabis instead as self-medication.

"By 2016 he was smoking cannabis all day every day," said Mr Mitchell. "Over the same period, his mental health declined."

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Mr Mitchell added that Miss Bowers said Reed's mental health improved once he was in hospital.

"She describes three visits to see him. On the first he was withdrawn, on the second he was better and would speak to her and on the third visit on January 14 he spoke to her perfectly normally, she had no concerns and he was in a good mood," he said.

"A stark contrast to how she described him in the midst of the drug use."

Mr Mitchell also said all doctors who assessed Reed apart from Doctor Vandenabeele said that Reed had a brief psychotic episode caused by drug use, most probably with a personality disorder underlying it.

He added that Reed made claims about "being Jesus" but later said to a policeman he knew he was talking "rubbish."

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"That mental illness robbed him of rational thought and self control because it caused him to to act on his delusional beliefs.

"If he had not been mentally ill he would not have harmed the innocent 60-year-old fellow patient who he had only known for 10 days."

He also asked the jury to "imagine the pitch" of behaviour Reed would have had to "fake" in order to convince his partner of five years to insist he needed to be looked after in a mental health facility.

He told the jury that Reed once left the house naked in the middle of the night not knowing where he was going and on another occasion disappeared altogether, posting a key and letter through the letter box saying "remember my love".

He also went to jump off a church roof and walked four miles in slippers to the house of old friend, amongst other incidents.

Mr Roberts said: "He was not making these thoughts up. These thoughts were driving his behaviour."

Mr Roberts also challenged the prosecution's argument that nine doctors said Reed was not psychotic, calling it "flawed."

He said only Doctor Puri and Doctor Vandenabeele had been actively involved with Reed, with Doctor Vandenabeele saying he thought Reed was suffering from acute psychotic symptoms.

Mr Roberts said: "What scope would there be of misinterpretation of Mr McNeil's intentions towards him?

"Jamie Reed believed Robert McNeil inserted thoughts in his head to go into his room for a Bible reading.

"He believed him to be a leader of a cult who would kill him or sexually assault him.

"Jamie Reed doesn't think or behave like a common criminal."

Mr Roberts asked the jury if a criminal would call 999 after the incident and admit to murder.